Lords Sitting of 5 March 1860

MINUTES.
PUBLIC BILLS.—1a Qualification for Offices Abolition;
2a Administering of Poison.
3 Companies (1860);

ADDRESS ON THE COMMERCIAL TREATY WITH FRANCE.

  THE ADDRESS. NOTICE.
  THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLEsaid, it would be probably a convenience to their Lordships that he should state the course which Her Majesty's Government intend to take with respect to a Vote of this House in reference to the Treaty of Commerce with France, Their Lordships would recollect that his noble Friend the President of the Council stated that as soon as the different Votes on Customs and Excise duties passed the House of Commons, a Resolution for an Address to the Crown would be moved there, according to the precedent set by Mr. Pitt. That Address would be moved in the House of Commons to-day, and, in the event of its passing this evening, and being brought up to this House to-morrow, he would venture to propose to fix Friday as the day on which the Address would be taken into consideration. His noble Friend behind him would give notice of a Motion as soon as the Address of the House of Commons was brought up; of course it would be impossible to give a formal notice earlier. It was not absolutely certain that the discussion would take place on Friday, because, in the event of there being an adjourned debate in the House of Commons, the Resolution could not come up until Thursday, and the next day would be too short a notice for proceeding upon a matter of such importance. If the Address did not come up until Thursday his noble Friend would name Monday instead. But if the more definite day were preferred, he would name Monday in either case, although some noble Peers, he believed, would prefer Friday, if possible.
  THE EARL OF DERBYsaid, he would throw no obstacle in the way of the Government bringing the question forward when they deemed it most convenient. It did, however, happen that it would be more convenient to him if the discussion was on Friday rather than Monday; but that was a matter that was not for a moment to be considered. He could only say that what-
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  ever day the Government might fix upon for the discussion, he would endeavour to be in attendance. He should certainly throw no obstacle in the way of the subject being fully considered. It was most important that the whole subject should be considered, commercially and politically.
  EARL GREYsaid, that while he concurred with the noble Earl in not wishing to throw any obstacle in the execution of the Treaty, he felt so strongly on the subject that he did not join in any Address which would express the approbation of their Lordships' House to it. He apprehended that the assent of the House to the Address was not essential to the operation of the Treaty, and that being so, he should not concur in an Address which he held to be unnecessary, and which would make the House partly responsible for the Treaty.
  THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLEsaid, that if the Address were brought up to-morrow, his noble Friend would give notice to move a similar Address on Friday. If it were not brought up tomorrow, he would give notice on Thursday for Monday.

LACE FACTORIES.—PETITION.
THE EARL OF SHAFTESBURY presented a Petition from Inhabitants of Nottingham and its vicinity, signed by 10,000 persons, including merchants, manufacturers, magistrates, clergymen, and members of the town council, and praying that the Lace Factories be brought under the Operation of the Factory Act. They stated that when the Factory Act was passed the lace trade by machinery was very peculiar in its nature, and limited to a few factories, whereby the bobbin-net machines in the lace trade were omitted from the Factory Act, but since then the trade, through the many improvements in the machinery itself, and also in the fabrics, had become, and was now, almost as important a branch of manufacture as any in England; and that many thousands of women and children were now engaged in the lace manufacture without any official control of parties in authority. It was unnecessary to detain their Lordships by stating the many reasons which rendered the change desirable. The principle reasons were:—First, the many and irregular hours at which women and children are called upon to work in the lace factories have a most pernicious effect both on the mind and body. Night labour of the juvenile population is especially destructive of their health and

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morality. Children of both sexes are liable to be called upon at any hour of the night or day, and as it is "quite uncertain how long they may be required, whether for two hours or the whole night—a ready excuse is found for staying out, and every facility afforded for forming improper connections. "The absence of proper restraints," the entire want of parental control, "accruing from the present system of employing children and young persons as threaders and winders is the most prolific source of immorality. Secondly, perhaps the greatest evil is the entire neglect of instruction; the great majority of children employed at lace factories begin first to work from seven, eight, and nine, to thirteen years of age. Thirdly, the absence of legislative provision to guard dangerous machinery renders the workers peculiarly liable to accidents, which are often of the most serious and fatal character. Fourthly, the entire absence also of legislative sanitary measures—as lime washing, painting, &c., the heat and effluvia of the rooms in which they work, and the exposure on winter nights to excessive cold on leaving the factories—all seriously impair the constitution of the young, and render them peculiarly susceptible of disease. The master manufacturers themselves were, almost without exception, anxious that the trade should be brought under the operation of the Factory Act; and, as they had seen the benefits which that Act conferred on many thousands of workpeople, he intended to bring in a Bill to extend it to lace factories.
THE EARL OF FAVERSHAMsupported the prayer of the petition.
THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLEsaid, it was unnecessary for him to say more than a single word on this subject, and that word was in justice to the manufacturers of a large and important town with which he was personally connected, and the seat and centre of this lace manufacture. It was only due to them to say that the principal manufacturers of the town were ready- to give the noble Earl the most liberal support in attaining the object he had in view. He did not mean to say but that some of the manufacturers, of small capital, might deprecate the enactment of such a measure; but if the small manufacturers were dealt with liberally and gently and the system introduced gradually, he believed there would be no opposition to the noble Earl's Bill.
THE EARL OF SHAFTESBURYsaid,
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he would show every consideration to the small manufacturers.
Petition to lie on the Table.

COMPANIES (1860) BILL.
BILL READ 3a AND PASSED.
Bill read 3a (according to Order).
On Question That the Bill do pass,
LORD WENSLEYDALEproposed certain Amendments to the Bill, the effect of one of which was to make it compulsory on all companies to publish half-yearly statements of their affairs.
THE LORD CHANCELLORsaid, he felt bound to oppose this Amendment. The Bill had been prepared under the direction of the Board of Trade, and he considered the Amendments objectionable.
Amendments withdrawn.
Bill passed, and sent to the Commons.

ADMINISTERING OF POISON BILL.

  SECOND READING.
  THE LORD CHANCELLOR, in moving the second reading of the Administering of Poison Bill, said it had for its object to correct a serious defect in the existing law in regard to the administration of noxious substances. As the law now stood, if poison was administered with intent to murder it was a capital offence, and in his own experience he had seen it punished by the extreme penalty of the law; but if no intent to murder could be proved, the law was most deplorably defective, because it was held that by common law it was not an offence to administer poison unless with intent to murder. The effect of this state of things had been that in various cases where poisonous substances had been administered, and had produced the most serious and distressing results, the offenders had escaped punishment, because it could not be proved that they had given the poison with intent to murder. The Bill consisted of two clauses. The first provided that the administration of poison with intent to endanger life or to do grevious bodily harm should be regarded as felony, and punished with penal servitude. The other provided that in the event of the administration of poison being without intent to do grievous bodily harm, and with intent only to annoy and aggrieve it should be regarded as a misdemeanour, and punished with three years' imprisonment.
  Bill read 2a.
  House adjourned at a Quarter before Six o'clock, till To-morrow half-past Ten o'clock.